Water cooler



May 9, 1939. s J. WIGGENHORN WATER COOLER Filed Nov 10, 1956 Patented May 9, 1939 I i r UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WATER COOLER Guido J. Wiggenhorn, South Pasadena, Calif.

Application November 10, 1936, Serial No. 110,101

Claims. (01. 62-915) My invention relates to a water cooler and Fig. 1 is a vertical cross section of a water while of general application it is especially indispenser provided with my cooling device. tended for use with drinking water dispensers Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of used in offices where the demand on such dis- Fig. 1.

5 pensers is made for a period of, say, from seven Referring to the drawing, l indicates the water 5 to eight hours. container of the conventional construction pro- A common construction of such dispensers invided with a faucet or spigot 2 near the bottom. cludes a cooling arrangement usually of porous A conventional jacket 3 may be provided which clay type construction of a water container which is spaced from the water container I and proby the action of evaporation of water seeping vided with ventilating openings 4 and 5 at the 10 to the exterior of the container cools the water bottom and top, respectively. To produce a within but, as well known, in hot weather and refrigerant effect by means of evaporation the especially when the humidity of the air is high sides of the water container 1 may be covered and a heavy demand is made upon the water with fibrous sheets 6, such as blotting paper, perdispenser, the cooling effect is insufficient to mitting the slow seepage of water therethrough, 16 maintain the water at the desired temperature. said water passing through minute perforations It is an object of this invention to provide 7. The container l shown in the drawing may means using dry ice as the refrigerant to efiecbe made of porous clay, in which event the blottively cool the water in such drinking water disting paper 6 may be omitted.

20 pensers for a period of seven to eight hours. It The features thus far described form no part 20 contemplates further the servicing with dry ice of the present invention, which consists in the of such water dispensers every morning. Dry cooling device designated as a unity by the nuice, while an excellent refrigerant in producing meral 8. low temperatures, has the disadvantage that its The same consists of a dry ice chamber 9,

specific heat is low and therefore a rather large which is shown as a rectangular box projecting 25 quantity of dry ice is required to effect the coolhorizontally inwardly from an opening it in the ing of the water for any considerable length of wall of the container I, which opening it will be time. noted is spaced a short distance from the bottom In particular, the object of this invention is to of the container so that the proper circulation of use dry ice within the body of the water of the water cooled by contact with the holding device 30 dispenser with means whereby the refrigerant may be efiected yet the quantity be limited to the action of the dry ice is retarded and while it ordinary demands made upon the water discools the water suificiently for the purpose inpenser. tended it will within the limitations imposed by The dry ice chamber consists of an exterior 85 the cost of the service and the size of the coolwall H and an interior Wall l2 spaced from each ing device efiect the cooling of the water for the other so as to provide a closed insulating chamlength of time desired. her [3 by means of a flange I4 which extends at It is another object of this invention to provide right angles from the interior wall l2 and which a double-walled chamber projecting horizontally passes beyond the exterior wall H and which is inwardly into the body of the water of the discemented to the wall of container l. A heavily 40 penser, with means whereby the chamber formed insulated door or closure I5 hinged at 16 to by the double Walls produces a slow circulation flange l4 permits the insertion or removal of of the water therein, which acts as a thermal an open-topped dry ice receptacle l1. insulating body surrounding the space in which A minute perforation I8 is provided in the top the dry ice is placed, thus retarding the evaporaof exterior wall II and another I9 at the bottom 45 tion of t e d y ice and prolonging its Cooling thereof. The interior wall [2 is likewise proeffect. vided with a minute perforation 20 so disposed With the above and other objects in view, that any ater dropping therethrough by gravity which will appear as the description proceeds, will n into t receptacle my invention consists in the construction and 50 arrangement of parts hereinafter described and Operation claimed.

I have illustrated in the accompanying draw- A piece of dry ice indicated at 2| is placed in ing a water cooler embodying my invention, in the receptacle l1. It is advisable to provide 56 which: thermal insulating means, such as cork strips or n the like, 22, upon which the dry ice rests so as to retard the evaporating thereof.

A thermal insulating sheet made of cork fibrous material or the like 23 is placed on top of the dry ice and the door I5 is securely closed. Water will fill the insulating chamber 13 by reason of the openings l8 and 19 which, it should be noted, are minute that the flow of water therethrough is extremely slow. The water in chamber 13 coming in contact with the interior wall l2, which is cooled by the proximity of the dry ice, will flow slowly, being heavier than water less cold, downwardly and out through perforation of the exterior wall I I.

The water will also drop through the minute perforation 20 into the dry ice chamber and onto the insulating sheet 23, which also functions as a distributing pad of the water, and coming in contact with the dry ice will be converted into water ice indicated at 24 forming a shell about the dry ice and enclosing the same, thereby retarding the evaporation thereof.

The constant evaporation of the dry ice, however, will not cause said shell to be impervious but will allow evaporation to take place although at a reduced rate and the carbon dioxide generated is permitted toescape through a minute opening 25 in the door l5. The cold in the dry ice chamber may be such that it will congeal the water dripping through perforations 2!] on to the sheet 23 and seal the perforation until such time when the temperature will melt the water, permitting further ingress of the same to the chamber. If an excess of water should enter the dry ice chamber or after the dry ice is all evaporated, water may accumulate in said chamber, no harm will be done; it will merely flow through perforation 25 in the closure [5 into the drip pan 26, which also serves to receive any excess water flowing on the outside of container I. I

In this manner, by providing a cooling unit which is surrounded by water except at one side, the entire cooling effect of thedry ice is utilized and retarded in a manner as described so that while cooling the water the rate will be such that under ordinary calculated conditions of the size of the cooling units and the water container as well as the weather, a certain quantity of dry ice will keep the water cool for the number of hours for which it is designed.

Various changes may be made in the details of the construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A water cooler comprising a water container, a dry ice chamber extending horizontally from the side wall of the water container into the interior and spaced from the bottom thereof, said dry ice chamber being formed with exterior and interior walls forming a closed insulating chamber therebetween, said dry ice chamber having an open end flush with the side wall of the water container, a removable cover therefor, a removable open topped dry ice receptacle within the dry ice chamber, a support of thermal insulated material for the dry ice in the receptacle, a loose thermal insulating sheet to rest on the dry ice in the receptacle, the exterior wall of the dry ice chamber being provided with minute perforations to permit slow circulation of water through the insulation chamber, the interior wall of the dry ice chamber being provided with a perforation permitting water to drop onto the fibrous sheet.

2. In a water cooler comprising a water container, a dry ice chamber extending from the side wall of the container into the interior thereof, said dry ice chamber being formed with exterior and interior walls forming a closed insulating chamber there between, said dry ice chamber having an open end connected to the side wall of the water container, a removable lid therefor, an open topped dry ice receptacle within the dry ice chamber, a thermal insulating sheet to cover the top of the receptacle, means to permit a slow circulation of Water through the insulating chamber and means to supply a small quantity of water from the insulating chamber onto the fibrous sheet.

3. In a water cooler comprising a water container, a dry ice chamber extending into the interior thereof and having an open end secured to the side wall of the water container, said dry ice chamber being formed with exterior and interior walls forming a closed insulating chamber therebetween, a removable closure for the open end of sulating chamber therebetween, a removable closure for the dry ice chamber, a dry ice receptacle within the dry ice chamber, means permitting slow circulation of water in the insulating chamber and means supplying a small quantity of water to the dry ice receptacle.

5. Ina water cooler comprising a water container, a dry ice chamber extending from a side wall of the container into the interior thereof, a removable lid for closing the dry ice chamber an open topped dry ice receptacle within the dry ice chamber, the chamber above the receptacle being provided with a small perforation to supply a quantity of water from the water container to the dry ice receptacle.

GUIDO J. W'IGGENHO RN. 

